Senior Center “Regarding the Open Space Adjacent to the Downtown Anaheim Community Center (DACC)”

By:Bob Prichard

Councilman Jose Moreno was welcomed at 1 pm on January 17th in the Senior Center lounge area of the DACC. Councilman Moreno was elected in November to the City Council representing of Council District 3 (the downtown area including the area where the DACC is located). Nearly 100 people were present for the meeting.

Councilman Moreno addressing questions from the audience (left), and Andy Vogel of the Anaheim Housing Authority on the right. Continue reading→

In the coming weeks, the Anaheim city council is expected to vote on yet another tax subsidy of $144 million for a so-called “luxury” hotel right across the street from the entrance to Disneyland, and then another hotel subsidy later in the summer. I will be voting against these subsidies because I believe they are unnecessary, they put the city on a dangerous path financially and they are a reckless giveaway of taxpayer dollars.

Back in 2013, when the Anaheim city council majority voted to give $158 million to a politically-connected hotel developer at the Gardenwalk properties (I voted against this action), we were told we needed to help shield the developer from the effects of the economic recession, and that if we didn’t subsidize this hotel “it would not be built.” In the 3 years since then, we have approved and celebrated the opening of 17 hotels in Anaheim, all without any subsidies. Our hotels serve the millions of tourists who come to our resort area each year, with beautiful amenities, spas, dining and entertainment. Continue reading→

Case dismissed — on a combination of technicalities and failure of anti-corruption legislation.

(1) Case Dismissed, Merits Remain

Yesterday, OCCORD lost its lawsuit against the City of Anaheim’s giveaways to Bill O’Connell, owner of the GardenWalk hotel project in front of Judge David McEachen of what Matt Cunningham’s unconscious mind describes in his story as the “Superior Curt.” Seriously. Somewhere, Sigmund Freud is applauding.

Interest declared: your humbe author is CATER’s General Counsel and, as the Cunningblog notes, OCCORD “has been represented in this suit by liberal litigator Cory Briggs (who is also CATER’s partner-in-litigation against the Anaheim Convention Center expansion)” — which is true if by “is” one means “was, but hasn’t been since the matter was settled half a year ago.” CATER doesn’t disclaim our former association with Briggs, though: another judge might have come to a different conclusion in this case (something that Anaheim certainly recognizes when it loses) and we admire and appreciate Briggs’s and OCCORD’s willingness to put the city’s kleptocracy to the test. Continue reading→

In what’s becoming an increasingly familiar happening, activists took to the steps of Anaheim City Hall this morning to denounce yet another vote by the council majority. The issue this time for the Take Back Anaheim group wasn’t a massive $158 million giveaway for a hotel project, but a potential deal involving Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner Arte Moreno that they say would be even worse for residents.

Last week, as our current print news feature scorns, a predictable 4-1 vote moved the opt-out time frame for the Angels lease with the city by three years from 2016 to 2019, giving Moreno the opportunity to be the next ‘should I stay or should I go’ sports figure in the footsteps of ex-Laker center Dwight Howard. Continue reading→